A domino effect? Switzerland, Denmark, United Kingdom… The list of countries announcing the end of the health or vaccination pass is growing. Thursday, February 17, the Portuguese and Israeli governments announced the end of the health pass among other measures. The day before, Austria and some Canadian states announced similar changes. In Portugal and Israel, no specific date has been communicated for the lifting of the health pass.
For these countries, it is first of all a relief in the face of an epidemic whose severity is decreasing: the spokeswoman for the Portuguese government, Mariana Vieira da Silva observes a “very significant falling pandemic”. For Naftali Bennett, Israeli Prime Minister, “the Omicron wave has been suppressed […] we are ending the use of the green passport (similar to the health pass, editor’s note). »
The country had experienced earlier this week a movement similar to the Canadian Freedom Convoy: thousands of cars and trucks drove towards Jerusalem, protesting once morest the maintenance of the green passport.
See as well :
Could the Green Passport Sway Vaccination-Reluctant Israelis?
Israel: Facing Omicron, is the fourth dose a failure?
The freedom convoy movement is also bearing fruit where it began. In Canada, the provinces are sovereign in deciding their policy on restrictions. Quebec and Ontario have thus announced the end of the health pass. For Quebecers, the withdrawal will be “gradual” until March 14, while the health pass will be lifted from March 1 for its neighboring province.
Some countries leave the door open to a return to these measures. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who made it clear that people are “complaining so much” regarding these measures, says the government remains “flexible” in the face of the unpredictable virus, according to West France. For this country, the lifting of the health pass is scheduled for March 5.
See also: Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany… the lifting of health restrictions is accelerating in Europe